The defence team representing suspended South Sudanese First Vice President Riek Machar and seven co-defendants on Monday raised concerns over alleged threats to the lives and safety of the accused and members of the defence team during their ongoing trial in Juba.
Lead defence lawyer Geri Raimondo Legge told the special court that the accused face potentially life-threatening circumstances and urged the judges to take their safety and welfare into consideration.
“My lord, we have an application to submit. There is a serious threat to the life of the defence and the eight accused persons, especially the fifth accused. It needs serious attention,” Legge told the court.
Machar is the fifth accused in the ongoing trial.
The lawyer did not identify those allegedly responsible for the threats. He called for immediate protective measures and an independent investigation into the alleged intimidation.
The defence is expected to formally submit its application on the alleged threats when the court resumes.
The presiding judge, James Alala Deng, adjourned Monday’s proceedings after fellow judge Stephen Simon was unable to attend because he was unwell, leaving the three-member panel incomplete.
The court adjourned the case until Friday, Sept. 11, when it is expected to rule on a defence application seeking clarification of the defendants’ constitutional right to legal representation, as well as a counter-application by the prosecution.
Machar and the seven other defendants are on trial over violence in Nasir, Upper Nile State, in March 2025, in which government forces suffered heavy casualties.
They face charges including treason, murder, conspiracy, terrorism, destruction of public property and crimes against humanity.
Prosecutors allege that forces aligned with Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), together with the White Army militia, killed 257 South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) soldiers, including military commander General David Majur Dak, during an attack on a military garrison in Nasir.
The prosecution has also alleged that military equipment worth about $58 million was destroyed or seized during the fighting.
Machar and the other defendants have denied the charges.
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